


reassurance

by plebbless



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, i just want my bois to be okay, pls, this was written like after s2 and i was angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 12:37:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15630819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plebbless/pseuds/plebbless
Summary: Every breath you take is a new reason for me to live.





	reassurance

The darkness always brought silence. It made everything louder than it was; the heavy breathing, the loud thumping of his heart as it resounded in his chest, the footsteps that echoed perpetually inside his head. He just couldn't sleep, not with so many things clouding his thoughts. Everything that he had been through, everything that everyone had been through... It was like torture. Pain, suffering, hurt—it was as if those abstract things had been etched onto the inside of his eyelids; he just couldn't forget or unsee any of it, no matter how much he silently pleaded for it to do so. No such luck.

Sounds from outside his door roused Keith out of his train of thoughts. It took him a while to register the fact that the footsteps were no longer the ones within his head, but instead, physically pacing back and forth in front of his door. The dark-haired boy paused, waiting for a knock. A shaky exhale could be heard from outside, before a quiet rap of knuckles knocking against his door was audible. Tossing the blankets off of him, Keith swung his legs over the edge of his bed, the cold floor tiles causing him to flinch momentarily. He stood up, tugging the hem of his red shorts down a little to cover what needed to be covered—everything tended to get messed up in bed.

_What was he wearing? Was it even appropriate for answering the door?_

_Red shorts, grey shirt, tousled hair and an 'I just rose from the dead' expression. Ah fuck it._

A tap on the keypad and the door hissed as it slid open, exposing both parties on either sides of the retreating door. There stood a figure, clutching onto a snow-white pillow for dear life with tears brimming in their ocean-blue eyes. Equally tousled hair, matching blue garments and lion slippers, and puffy red eyes which Keith could easily deduct meant that they had been crying beforehand. Keith opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Keith-" Lance's voice hitched at the end, tentatively stepping forwards as the tears in his eyes threatened to roll down his cheeks. Keith didn't move in the slightest. The door slid shut behind them. 

"Lance, what-"

"I can't sleep. I'm so fucking scared Keith." Those words caught Keith's attention which, to be frank, had been wavering momentarily. Lance left it at that, with no deeper context, but a paladin's bond goes further than just words.

"... You too, huh?" Keith spoke up after a while, shifting his weight onto his other foot as he folded his arms over his chest.

"It's just," Lance breathed in momentarily before continuing. "What if we never make it back home? What if we never make it back to the people who care about us? What if-" Keith held up a hand to stop them, his gaze cast downwards. They did as asked of them, pressing their lips shut. 

"Lance, we will make it back to Earth. And then you can go back and reunite with your family or whatever." His tone became harsh; thinking about the things that he never had always seemed to rile him up one way or another. However, he saw his faults, and strove to fix them. "Sorry, I just-"  _Stop it. Stop these feelings, and the tears that they brought._ Exhaling shakily, Keith blinked back his tears that silently slid down his cheeks. Letting his arms fall back against his sides, Keith's fists clenched in spite of his loss of self-control. There was no point in holding back anymore. 

Keith was interrupted by the other suddenly tossing their pillow away from them, the latter landing ungracefully on the floor. Scooting forwards, Lance stopped when he was right up in Keith's personal space, hesitating before engulfing them in a large embrace. Keith didn't make any move to deepen the embrace, neither push Lance away. His fists unfurled, and he allowed himself to sink into the other's hold, hiccupping every once in a while as a consequence for stifling his sobs. Neither of them spoke, resulting in silence to suffocate the room, only to be broken by Keith's hiccups. It got a bit too much for Lance; he always spoke out loud about his problems, maybe that would benefit Keith if he tried it?

"Let it all out. It's just me. You don't have to keep quiet anymore." Seemingly in response, Keith pushed forwards and wrapped his arms around the other's torso, digging his face further into their shoulder. Lance tilted his head to rest it against Keith's. 

"I'm just a bad luck charm..." He whispered weakly, the tears soaking into the fabric of Lance's shirt. Lance couldn't bring himself to believe the words that had just come out of the other's mouth. What the fuck? That was all he saw himself as? If only Keith could see himself through Lance's eyes; there was so much more to him than he thought. But he'd save his swears for some other quarrel, now wasn't the time.

"What makes you think that?" Lance asked, swaying the two of them slightly. What sounded like a mix between a sob and a suppressed chuckle came from the other. 

"It just seems to be that anyone important in my life always ends up disappearing." Lance felt their hands' grip tighten as Keith clung onto the back of his shirt. "My mother, my father, Shiro-" Ah. There it was. Lance had a feeling that _he_ would be brought up. Everyone refused to mention it; it hurt to even think that they had lost him to Zarkon. "-And when we return to Earth, I'll lose all of you too." Keith finished with a whimper, lifting his face and shuffling away to reveal puffy red eyes and a tear-stained expression. Rubbing his thumb across Keith's cheek to disrupt the stream of tears, Lance rested his hand on the back of Keith's head, underneath his mullet. He pulled them closer again, lips against their forehead. 

"Keith..."

"I had never felt so alone when I was alienated by Allura because of my Galra heritage. I felt like I didn't belong anywhere. But you guys helped me through that. I have a family here. But with Shiro gone and Volton no longer needed, I have nothing." Chewing his lip hesitantly, a pained expression flashed across Keith's face before being replaced with the usual frown. "I have nothing back on Earth." Lips trembling as he spoke, Keith looked down at his feet. “I don't even have anywhere to call home.” What Keith hadn't realised as his pent up emotions slipped off the tip of his tongue, was that Lance had slowly been guiding the both of them back to his bed with his subtle swaying, Keith falling back onto the mattress as the back of his knees hit the frame and caught him by surprise. Recovering from this, a quiet _thump_ next to him made Keith's head turn. His gaze was met with Lance's smile which seemed to brighten up the dark room.

"Keith," Lance's fingers grasped the other's hand, entwining both of their fingers together. "I promise that when the time comes, we will all stay in contact and you _will_ have somewhere to call home." Keith wasn't sure if it was Lance's words or presence, but he felt so much more reassured and calm than he had ever felt in his life. He was sure that it was just because it was Lance. With those words in mind, a warmth pooled into Keith's heart and spread around his body, a soft smile creeping onto his face unknowingly. 

"Thank you, Lance." He breathed, faltering when Lance got up, their fingers parting. He didn't want them to leave, not now, not ever. Watching the other scoop up their pillow from where it lay on the cold hexagonal-tiled floor, Keith sighed in relief when Lance laid back down beside him.

"Relax champ, I'll stay with you. Can't have our impulsive right arm being sad by himself." The two of them shuffled up so their heads were relatively in the vicinity of the pillows, Lance nuzzling his forehead against the other's chest. 

"A leg and an arm, huh?" Keith whispered, drawing himself in to rest his face on the top of Lance's head. God, what kind of shampoo did he use? The scent of cinnamon and vanilla overwhelmed his senses.

"I'd give an arm and a leg for you to be truly happy. It would.." A drawn-out yawn interrupted Lance before he continued. "...It would definitely be worth my limbs for that." A quiet snore was Keith's response, an arm draped over the other's waist as he slept. Lance laughed to himself quietly, before packing it in for the night. Keith's hand subconsciously clung onto the back of Lance's shirt; he just needed to be sure that he wouldn't be alone tonight. That for once, someone important in his life would stay. 

* * *

Allura had called for a meeting with everyone, the four paladins who remained stood looking up at her and Coran as they stood on the elevated platform. Naturally, after defeating the Galra Empire and restoring peace to the universe, the four were anxious. What if their work here wasn't done? They didn't want to live through all of that again. 

"We have something to show you." The princess declared, lifting her hand to reveal the sight beyond the ship's shaded windows. Three out of the four paladins cheered. Hugs were exchanged. Tears shed, most of them from happiness. 

"Guys, we can go home!" Hunk cried out, proceeding to bombard everyone in the room with a large hug. With Coran busy speaking with Allura about the history of Earth and Hunk wildly embracing Pidge without crushing them, Lance took the time to look back at the glorious sight.

Earth. The planet that was littered with beautiful shades of white, blue and green. The planet that they called home.

 _Home_.

Lance turned back, his gaze focusing on the figure with his head lowered and arms folded tightly over their chest, eyes forcefully staring daggers into the ground. He wasn't about to backtrack on his promise.

"Keith! There's this really good pizza shack that I need to take you to, and I just have to take you to see the sunset at Varadero Beach!" Lance exclaimed, the other raising their head at their words. By this point, everyone had turned their attention to the two of them.

"Lance-?"

"My point is," Grasping Keith's hands and holding onto them tightly, Lance squeezed them gently as he drew another breath. "Come home with me." It took a few moments for the words to sink in, before a tearful smile spread onto Keith's face. He walked forwards into the other, hiding his expression, their hands still clinging onto Lance's. Lance drew back a little, placing a soft kiss on his forehead, before pressing his own forehead against them, grinning ear to ear.

"Welcome home, Keith."

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to roast me in the comments below, or give me constructive criticism !


End file.
